


hanging out with the stars

by thishorseiswack



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Skiing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-04-13
Packaged: 2018-03-05 01:05:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3099293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thishorseiswack/pseuds/thishorseiswack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The "I suck at skiing but you're an amazing (and super hot) ski instructor" AU<br/>also known as the "Carmilla is a ski instructor and Laura is a hopeless newbie that is constantly distracted by said ski instructor" AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. captivated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title is taken from the song Northern Lights by Cider Sky

In the world of journalism, life is constantly on the move. The job title demands hard work, and initiative. It also means sacrificing late nights, and even long-awaited weekends. For Laura Hollis, it means all of those things, and more. Ever since she'd accepted the paid internship at the local newspaper in Styria, she's always tired, always stressed, and always annoyed at the fact that she has to bust her butt in order to prove herself. In fact, she doesn't even remember the last time she had a free weekend. So when her college friends LaFontaine and Perry suggest taking a relaxing trip during winter break, she doesn't even think twice. Though, of course, she would've given it a second thought if she knew that by "relaxing", her friends actually meant taking a trip to a ski resort two hours away, in the middle of the alps. Especially because Laura's never even been on a pair of skis before- ever. 

 

"It's just like skating- Laura, have you been skating?" Perry asks cheerfully, from the passenger seat. 

 

"Yes," she replies, thinking about it for a moment. "But aren't they two entirely different sports? For one, skating requires no helmet--"

 

"--Really? You think that, huh?" LaFontaine interrupts, grinning in the rear view mirror at Laura. Perry smacks them on the arm playfully, and then turns in her seat to face Laura in the middle of the back seat. She's starting to look a bit more panicked, so Perry offers her an encouraging smile.

 

LaFontaine clears their throat, "Well, okay, so the  _majority_ of people don't need helmets for ice skating. But other that, they're pretty similar. You need a good concept of balance to be able to stay upright, and your movements are pretty much the same, too. Just bend your knees, and lean forward, or else the wind will knock you right back."

 

"Right," Laura says, her face paling at their advice. They've been driving in the thick forest for a while now, so when they turn around the bend and pull up at the ski resort, Laura is relieved. The cabin lodge that serves as the chalet is placed right at the bottom of a gigantic, snowy mountain with snow-covered pine trees scattered on it. There are people skiing everywhere: to one of the many ski lifts, to the chalet, and effortlessly side slipping down the hill right behind the chalet.  _They make it look so easy,_ Laura thinks, as she opens the car door. LaFontaine opens the trunk, pulling Perry's skis out. 

 

"Laura honey, if you really don't want to try, you can always just stay in the lodge. There are loads of things to do here besides skiing!" Perry suggests with a wave of her hand, and a wide smile on her face. 

 

"Yeah, you're right, Perr. I think I'll check out the, um..." Laura trails off as she finds herself glancing up at the enormous mountain behind the chalet, her eyes slowly making their way up the entire length of it. "Yeah, I'll definitely find something else to do."

 

"Are you sure, L?" LaFontaine grunts as they struggle with their own skis who have seem to found their way to the back of the trunk. 

 

"Yeah, don't worry about me, I'll be fine," she says, replacing the terrified look on her face to something that assures LaFontaine and Perry that she'll have fun, regardless. Once LaFontaine unpacks their luggage, Laura thanks them and pulls out the handle. They check in in the resort's front lobby, and head over to the elevator. Perry pushes the button that takes them to the 6th floor, and she swipes the card key through the handle, opening the door to their room. There is a door inside of Perry and LaFontaine's room that directly leads to Laura's room, and she unlocks it and enters. It isn't a bad room, with a gorgeous view of the mountain that she was previously looking at when they had first arrived, and a TV perched on the mahogany table across from the double poster bed. 

 

"Nice view, huh?" LaFontaine beams, and Laura jumps at the sudden sound of their voice. 

 

"It's gorgeous," she agrees, and LaFontaine waves a pair of ski goggles in their hand. 

 

"Well, we're gonna check out the slopes. We won't be long, though, because Perry says she has a hunger for cupcakes like no other," they grin, and at the sound of Perry's summoning, leaves the room with a wave. 

 

"Have fun!" Laura calls after them. 

 

"We'll be back in about an hour, Laura!" Perry yells, and then the door slams shut in the other room. Laura lifts her small carry-on onto the bed, unpacking her clothes in the long drawer facing the side of the bed. She has about 45 minutes to kill until her friends come back, so she picks up the book she's currently reading, and heads down to the cafeteria in the chalet. She orders cocoa, and sits at an empty cafeteria table near the fireplace. The cabin walls and the view of the mountain from the window beside her add to the warm and cozy vibe of the place. As she sips some of her hot chocolate, a crowd of skiers and snowboarders come bounding up the stairs that lead up to the cafeteria, and she looks up at them, even though the stairs are in such a place that they're walking up with their backs facing her. Laura rolls her eyes, because the chalet was so nice and quiet without all of the commotion that the skiers and snowboarders create. She tries so hard to return to her open book, she really does, but she instead just shifts uncomfortably in her seat, rolling her eyes at the crowd that is now piling into the cafeteria line up a few tables behind her. Laura turns back to her book, attempting to read the first few lines of the next sentence. Laura has read this book so many times, she's lost count, (and really, is there a point to read a book that you can quote off of the top of your head?) but it's one of her favorites (her mother and father used to read it to her when she was younger). 

 

_'Every book should begin with attractive endpapers,' he had once told Meggie._

 

Laura glances up from her book when she sees a lone dark haired figure appear in the corner of her eye. She's walking up the stairs slowly, and all Laura can see is her raven, curly hair- the tips bouncing just below her shoulders. She's wearing a black, lacy top, with leather pants, regardless of the weather outside. For some reason, Laura finds herself wondering how her face looks like, and she's practically on the edge of her seat, waiting for this mysterious woman to turn around. Her finger traces the perimeter of her page, and she can even see the words forming in her head from the next sentence she's supposed to be reading.

 

_'Preferably in a dark color: dark red or dark blue depending on the binding.'_

 

The woman makes her way up the stairs ever so slowly, ever so elegantly.

 

_'When you open the book it's like going to the theater.'_

 

She finally reaches the last few steps, her hand on the top of the railing.

 

__'First you see the curtain.'_ _

 

She steps up, turning only to the side, but that's enough for Laura, and her breath catches in her throat. She can see her profile; her fine, pointed nose, her perfectly angled eyebrow, her small, red lips, and her sharp jawline.

_'Then it's pulled aside and the show begins.'_

 

And then she turns around fully. Her hair whirls perfectly to the other side of her head as she rotates her body to face Laura. Their eyes lock instantly, and the intensity of the woman's gaze elicits a tiny gasp from Laura.

 

Even though she's sitting, Laura can feel her knees start to weaken as she stares into the woman's eyes. Her face is blank but she's staring at Laura with such an intensity that she finds it quite challenging to look away. Her beauty is indescribable; she has hardened features with heavy eyes that seem to say that she's been alive for centuries with loads of wisdom and life experience. Her other eyebrow is just as perfect as the other one Laura saw just seconds earlier, and on that topic, so is the other half of her lip, nose, and face. Laura's forgetting about the book in front of her because suddenly she's  _smirking_ at her, and Laura is sure she's about to squeal or make  _some_ sort of noise, until the woman turns and walks around the staircase to the end of the cafeteria line behind Laura. When she starts to come closer _(_ _she walks like a runway model)_ , Laura can hear the heels of her shoes click and clack against the wood. 

 

Laura moves her head back to her book with lightning fast reflexes, and tries her hardest to focus on her novel. She hadn't noticed she had the book in a steel-like hold for the past few minutes, and she loosens her grip. With the knowledge that the woman is behind her, Laura feels more anxious than ever, and has sweat starting to pool on her palms and underneath her arms.  _Focus, Laura. Read the book. Just read the book._ She flips the page and swallows, her eyebrows furrowing as she attempts to read the words on the page. It's getting harder and harder, as her vision blurs and the words are becoming smaller, moving farther away.

 

_'Meggie, I really have to work now,' she said without turning around. 'The sooner I'm through with Elinor's books the sooner we can go home again.'_

 

The sound of heels tapping a few times snap Laura out of her very limited concentration, and she silently curses for having such little self control. The sweat is becoming more apparent, and while she feels cold underneath her clothes, her face burns red hot. It's an almost unbearable contrast, and she curses again for deciding to wear a button up top. She unbuttons the top buttons, waving her shirt against herself a few times in a lame attempt to fan herself. Gulping, she tries to digest the words on the page once again.

 

_Meggie put the book about creatures who were masters of disguise back in its place. 'Suppose he didn't stick the horns on?' she asked._

 

The heels click again, a bit farther away this time, but before Laura has the chance to breathe a sigh of relief, the clicking grows and grows until it's so close that she predicts they're a few inches away from her- and then they stop. But she can't turn around now, she would just add onto her embarrassment. So instead she silently panics, and simply runs her eyes across the page, not even digesting the words. It's a miracle she even continues reading from her last sentence. 

 

_'Gwinshorns.SupposeDustfingerdidn'tstickthemon?''Well,hedid.'Modrewachairuptothetablethatwasn'tlongenoughforhim.'Bytheway,Elinor'sgoneshopping.Ifyoufeelfaintwithhungerbeforeshegetsback,justmakeyourselfacoupleofpancakes,OK?''OK'murmuredMeggie.ForamomentshewonderedwhethertotellhimaboutherdatewithDustfingerthatnight,butthenshedecidedagainstit._

 

Laura's breathing increases as the clicking starts up again, only this time, they sound as if they're circling around her, and- well, Laura chooses the wrong time to look up (from the book she isn't even really reading anymore), immediately staring up at the mysterious woman's butt clad in tightening leather as it walks around her table. She watches her butt (which looks fantastic, Laura doesn't think she's ever seen such a nice butt) with a slightly open mouth, until it turns and she's looking at her hips, and then her crotch, and then her chest, because she's _sitting down right across from her_ , oh  _God._ Laura jumps and dives headfirst into her novel with a speed that probably only directs more attention to her, and she digs her nose into the paper, scrunching up her face as she grimaces at her own awkwardness. She's silently cursing to herself when she hears the soft clinking of china, and she lifts her head slowly, her eyes looking over the top of the book at her guest. 

 

The gorgeous brunette is neatly placing a napkin underneath her knife, and then eating her fries with a fork. Laura watches with fascination for a few seconds, until she realizes she must look ridiculous and raises her book back in front of her face, staring at a certain comma on the page. Minutes pass by and Laura's only getting more anxious, but she continues to stare at her book, until she deems a correct amount of time has passed and flips the page, only to stare at another random punctuation mark. And then, a velvety, throaty voice is speaking:

 

“Blue as the evening sky, blue as cranesbill flowers, blue as the lips of drowned men and the heart of a blaze burning with too hot a flame."

 

Laura finds herself lowering the book slowly to stare in the eyes of the siren who  _owns_ this voice. Her eyes bear deep into Laura's, that small smirk dancing on the edge of her lips, threatening to reappear as she speaks such poetry. She is practically wrapping anyone who is listening to her in a deep entrancement, and as she speaks, Laura's unable to break free of her powerful hold on her. 

 

"Yes," she continues, without breaking eye contact, "sometimes it was hot in this world, too. Hot and cold, light and dark, terrible and beautiful, it was everything all at once. It wasn't true that you felt nothing in the land of Death. You felt and heard and smelled and saw, but your heart remained strangely calm, as if it were resting before the dance began again. _Peace._ Was that the word?" Her smile grows now, "Inkdeath, Cornelia Funke. One of my favorite quotes from that series."

  
  
Laura struggles to scramble some words together in her brain, and while she does so, the raven haired beauty simply continues talking as if she's in a conversation by herself. 

 

"It was one of my most cherished childhood novels, and I still find myself drifting back to it these days. What about you, darling? Does it have a special place in your heart, too?"

 

_This is your cue, Laura. So... speak! But oh, she's staring at me with those sparkling eyes, and that dazzling smile, and she just called me darling, and how can I even think right? How am I not melting into a puddle right at this very table in the middle of this crowded chalet--_

 

"Oh, um, yes, I used to read it a lot with my dad- well, and my mom. It's one of the first fantasy novels I've ever read," she blurts, and the woman's smirk turns into a warm smile. Her eyes won't dare to stop sparkling, though. "I, I just can't believe you quoted something right from the book," Laura finds herself saying as she places a hand on the table nervously, mentally kicking herself because it isn't that hard to remember a couple of words- she had just done the exact same thing in her head minutes ago. But, even if the woman is offended, it doesn't show, because now she's laughing, and Laura's insides are melting. Melting, melting, melting--

 

"I found myself reading back to that part again and again, and it wasn't long before it became ingrained in my brain." She's laughing again and Laura sinks into the bench a bit.

 

_Her teeth look so wonderful when she laughs, and her eyes even close a bit- don't people usually do that when they're truly happy?_

 

"So, I take it that you're a skier?" 

 

Laura is brought back to reality with the woman's question, her eyes widening and her cheeks' usual pale, whitish color turning into a deep crimson. 

 

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be prejudice. So you're a snowboarder, then?"

 

Laura must look like she's been told that she's the tallest person the woman has ever seen (and she reaches a nice 5'3, on a good day), because the mysterious beauty immediately backtracks once again, spilling out an apology from those perfect lips of hers.

 

"No! It's okay, really, I'm just here for my friends," Laura explains, silently praying that the heat in her ears isn't visible. "I've never actually been on a pair of skis- ever."

 

The woman chuckles, Laura's knees weaken once more, and a hand is being slipped under hers. Laura looks down at her own hand covering the brunette's palm with a shy smile, praying that her sweaty hands can control themselves. _  
_

"Well, if you ever want to learn, I know where you can find a  _wonderful_ instructor," she purrs, winking with that  _absolutely dazzling_ smirk spread on her  _absolutely lovely_ features.

 

And with that, she slips her hand out from under Laura's, standing up to take her tray back to the cafeteria. Once the clicking of her heels fades, Laura snaps out of her daze, looking at the cupcake placed in front of her on the table ( _w_ _as that even there before?)_. Laura flips her hand up slowly, seeing a small white piece of paper sticking to her palm.  _So she used my sweatiness as an advantage, hmm._ Laura raises her hand closer to her face to read the elegant cursive handwriting:

 

_-Carmilla Karnstein, ski and snowboard instructor. Call me, cupcake_

 

And written on the bottom, is her number. 

 

Laura doesn't try to control her squeal this time. 


	2. à corps perdu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is unedited so please bear with me, it's so late

Laura speed-walks back to her room, fumbling with the key-card as she tries, and fails, to insert it correctly. Her shaking hands make it a bit hard to slide it in, and whenever she is successful, she snatches the card back impatiently, too quick for the door to read the key. She finally manages to calm her heart currently hammering in her chest and stabilize her hands, but they shake when she finally slams the key-card in, anxiously bouncing on her feet while waiting for the door to blink green. When it permits her entry, she lets out a short, but loud laugh, opening the door and swinging on it like a child on a playground. She freezes and the smile on her face drops when she sees LaFontaine and Perry looking up at her with wide eyes while sitting on the end of the bed, watching TV.

 

"Laura! What's going on? Is something wrong?" Perry asks immediately, standing up in the blink of an eye. 

 

"I'm fine, why would anything be wrong? Everything's fine- more than fine, actually- I'm feeling _great_ ," she blurts with a grin, slamming the door behind her with her foot and walking over to them. LaFontaine raises an eyebrow, but they're pursing their lips in order to suppress a wide grin.

 

"You sure? Sounded like you a had a bit of trouble unlocking the door, there." Their voice cracks, and Laura knows they're doing their best to not burst out with laughter. 

 

Laura pauses. She tries her hardest to absolutely not freak out, she really does, but she's still sweating all over, her heart is pounding like a bass drum, and that's just about the adrenaline she needs to start squealing and doing a little happy dance in between the couch and the TV.

 

"Okay, either something truly amazing happened, or you've been hanging out with stoner snowboarders in the hour we've left you alone," LaFontaine laughs, jumping up to stand beside Perry, whose looking like she might crack a smile. 

 

"Look!" That's all Laura can squeeze out (and it mainly comes out as a squeal), throwing the piece of paper into the air as she points her fingers and thrusts them into the air rhythmically. LaFontaine scrambles to the ground, and because it fluttered so gracefully in the air, it lands face down and they turn the paper over to read it. They analyze the information, their eyebrows rising so high that Perry's afraid they just might fly off. 

 

"Whose  _Carmilla Karnstein?"_  they ask, emphasizing the woman's name teasingly, as if they were back in elementary school, and they were joking about Laura's schoolgirl crush (well, the schoolgirl crush is spot on, actually). Laura stops dancing ridiculously, calming down a bit to now play with her hands nervously as she recounts the past ten minutes. 

 

"A  _really pretty_  girl- she talked to me in the cafeteria," Laura says with a shy smile, tucking her hair behind her ear. 

 

"It's drenched," LaFontaine comments on the status of the small strip of paper, looking up at Laura. 

 

"Yeah, well- like I said: _really_   _gorgeous_ girl." She purses her lips in embarrassment, clenching her sweating hands, and then points to the paper. "Just read it!"

 

LaFontaine shakes their head but smiles, looking down at the paper once again. 

 

"Yeah, I read it, L," they chuckle. "It isn't hard when there're like, six words."

 

"And I'm positive you had said 'pretty', not gorgeous," Perry mutters, sitting back down with a huff when she realizes the situation isn't as serious as she thought it was. 

 

"So I guess it's gonna be a bit sad when she realizes you'll never call," LaFontaine says with a shrug. Laura scrunches up her face that suggests she's puzzled. 

 

"Why will I never call?"

 

"Laura, you can't be serious," Perry says in a very serious tone. "Remember when you tried to walk across the ice that one time? When that pond froze over at Silas?"

 

"Yeah, what about it?" Laura asks innocently.

 

"Oh nothing, aside from the fact that you basically broke every bone in your body," LaFontaine says sternly, even though it's a large exaggeration. Perry nods along with every word up until the last part of their sentence, and then she looks like she's sputtering from LaFontaine's words, blinking a few times to express her confusion. 

 

"It was a simple fracture," Laura says with a wave of her hand.

 

"You fractured your wrist and your hip bone from the same fall- how does that even happen?" Perry seems to have recovered from said confusion, and states her sentence rather than asks it. Laura knows she's more than worried now, because her eyebrows are doing that thing where they furrow and cause major wrinkles in her forehead. "How will you manage to ski with your zero amount of balance?" 

 

But Laura dismisses it with a playful roll of her eyes, and a smile on her face. She doesn't want to worry poor Perry any more than she has to (and Perry's a natural worrywart.)

 

"I'll be _fine_ ," Laura says with a dramatic flair. "Besides, I've got the most _wonderful_  instructor," she says with a hand on her heart, trying her best to imitate the way the beautiful woman (or, _Carmilla,_ as she had written) had said it. Laura fails though, and the impression comes out as a fancy variation of a British accent, instead. Laura still isn't sure if she's on first name basis with the woman; she only had given her name, and Laura didn't have a chance to give hers (although, if the conversation lasted longer, it probably wouldn't have ended in Laura giving her name, considering the nervous puddle she had melted into). And still, it doesn't feel like she was even formally introduced to the woman- just with that darn, tiny, now drenched piece of paper. But do words qualify as a means of introduction? Does it make it less awkward to refer to her as  _Carmilla_  even though the name wasn't exchanged verbally? Laura isn't too sure- this had never happened before to her before. 

 

"Laura, you're not actually doing this, are you?" LaFontaine sounds genuinely worried, and that pulls Laura out of her own head. She can see Perry has her motherly instincts coming out, and Laura really is worried about the stress lines being forever ingrained in her forehead. 

 

"I just want to try it, maybe  _Carmilla_ can help me, if she is as 'wonderful' as she says she is."

 

Nope, definitely awkward referring to someone who she hadn't been properly introduced to.

 

"And what if she isn't?" Perry's lips are knit together, and her eyebrows are raised. 

 

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Laura admits, her eyes drifting to no place in particular, and nodding her head as if she's silently agreeing with herself.

 

"Man, how gorgeous _is_  she?" LaFontaine snickers quietly before Perry lightly shoves an elbow into their side. 

 

-

 

Laura waits a day to call  _Carmilla_ (the name still sounds weird in her own head), standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom and staring at her reflection. The phone is sitting on the counter, beside the sink. 

"Hey, Carmilla! This is Laura, the girl you met yesterday in the cafeteria, reading that book that you so eloquently quoted? Anyway, I was just wondering if you're free today, and if you'd maybe like to give me some ski lessons. I'm pretty bad, so I have to warn you- I might fall fifty times. I might not even get up after the twenty second fall. I might just lie there. I'll be gone. I don't give up that easily, though! I'll try, I'm just saying, I will suck. You might want to give up, and that's totally okay! Lot's of people have given up on me, like ex best friends, exes in general, some of my relatives... But I will try super hard before I even think about giving up! And maybe by then I'll be able to glide down a small hill, maybe even a slope! So, yeah!"

 

She pauses, relaxes a bit and then sighs, and starts again.

 

...

 

"Hey! It's Laura! I know I haven't actually introduced myself, but it's the cute girl who was reading that book that we both happen to love. Yeah! Anyway, I was just wondering if you are teaching any lessons today? I'll rent a pair of skis, and then we can hit the slopes! I'm not entirely sure how this works, like maybe you have a class, or it's one on one tutoring, which I don't mind at all! It's more intimate that way!"

 

Before she knows it, she's circling her hands around each other like she's demonstrating the intimacy, and then widens her eyes at herself. Realizing her poor word choice, she lowers her head and her hands in shame, shaking her head slowly. She lifts her head so her reflection stares back at her again, and she rolls her eyes, watching herself slump her shoulders a bit. She looks hesitant, but then she quickly shakes it off. 

 

...

 

"Hey, it's Laura, that girl that you met yesterday! If you meet a lot of girls everyday, then this isn't a good start, I guess..."

 

...

 

"Hey! It's the Inkheart girl! I was just calling about lessons- you know, ski lessons! Yeah! Woo! Let's do this, I'm totally ready for some fun in the wintry sun-!" 

 

The finger snapping and pointing seem a little 'over the top', she decides.

 

...

 

"Hey  _Carmilla._ It's  _Laura._ Yeah, let that sink in for a bit. Roll it around in your mind. You can even practice saying it, because who knows, maybe you'll end up repeating it later tonight."

 

She winks. Then, she grimaces. She can only lift her fingers to her forehead as she shakes her head once again at her reflection. 

 

...

 

"Hey, this is Laura, and I know I haven't exactly introduced myself to you, but I'm the girl who was reading that book in the cafeteria. I'd like to sign up for ski lessons tomorrow, if that's possible."

 

She smiles satisfyingly, knowing _that's_ the one, that's the greeting. 

 

She spreads her hands on the counter on either of the sink, leaning forward as she uses them to support her weight. She exhales deeply, staring at the phone placed centimeters away from her right hand. It's almost taunting her. With a slight shake of her head, she purses her lips and grabs the phone as she straightens up. She reaches into her pocket in her high waisted jeans, looking at the number as she dials it slowly. She loses count of the times she shakily inhales and exhales within the next few seconds. After an agonizingly painful silence that lasts about four seconds, it rings.

 

And rings.

 

And rings.

 

And then, "Hello?"

 

Laura's breath catches in her throat at the husky voice in her ear. 

 

"Oh, yes! Hi, it's Laura, and um, I know I haven't exactly introduced myself to you, but I'm the girl who was reading that book in the cafeteria. And I'd like to sign up for ski lessons, tomorrow possibly."

 

She tries her hardest to inaudibly release a breath she had been holding before she started speaking. She slowly exhales as there is muffling in the line, and as she concentrates, she thinks Carmilla might be laughing. 

 

"Well, hello Laura, nice to formally meet you. That didn't take too long, actually." A throaty laugh emits from Carmilla, and Laura feels her face burn up. "But, you can sign up as early you like, of course, and I'll book you for..." 

 

A pause, and a sound of a paper flipping in the background.

 

"Two thirty, is that okay?"

 

"Yes! That'd be great," Laura says enthusiastically, subconsciously bouncing a tiny bit as she finishes her sentence. 

 

"Perfect," she purrs, and Laura feels her knees weaken from the sound of her voice- it honestly feels like it's vibrating through her entire ear canal. Why does the phone's volume suddenly sound too loud? 

 

"See you then," Laura says with a smile she knows is made clear in her voice, and the laugh she gets from Carmilla as a response definitely confirms this. 

 

"See you then," she echoes.

 

Laura hangs up, dancing into her bedroom with the phone clutched to her chest. She jumps backwards onto her bed, spreading her arms out as she sinks into the sheets for just a few precious moments with a grin that feels like it could be forever etched into her features.

 

-

 

"Laura, this is a bad idea."

 

Perry keeps echoing those six words as if Laura doesn't hear her each time she says them- and really, she does, but she just chooses to sweep them away as soon as they leave the curly haired girl's lips. It's a day after Laura's called Carmilla, and the trio is walking through the chalet to the rental shop. They're walking down the staircase that Laura had seen Carmilla walk up, and it leads down to a small lobby that houses the ski/ snowboard rental shop and the locker rooms, similar to the design of a mall. 

 

"Hey, if she wants to chase a beautiful, mysterious stranger into some unknown circumstance that could get her whisked away, or maybe even possibly killed, then you know, it's her choice." LaFontaine gives Laura a shit-eating grin.

 

"Hey, hey, it just so happens that I've always wanted to learn how to ski, and now that the opportunity is available, I may as well take it."

 

"You're saying that like you _didn't_ take one look at the mountain and paled, which also doesn't exactly help your argument claiming you're 'not only doing this for the hot girl'," LaFontaine mutters, and the tiny girl smacks them across the shoulder. "Ooh, she's got bite!" they laugh, dramatically holding their shoulder as if they're in pain. 

 

"Five foot two of pure fight and fury, baby," Laura jokes, raising her two fists under her chin as she bounds down the rest of the stairs, waltzing into the ski shop. A broad young man made of pure beef stands lazily behind the counter, brightening up at the sight of Laura and immediately closing his "Ski Freaks and Snowboard Geeks" magazine on the counter, sliding it to the side. 

 

"Hey there, little hottie, how may I be of service today?" 

 

 Laura suddenly loses her confidence for the sport once she sees the amount of equipment filling every wall. She feels overwhelmed, so she slows her walk, while also trying her hardest not to grimace at how the grinning young man addresses her. 

 

"Um, yes, I would like to rent a pair of skis. Also maybe a helmet. And any other... ski equipment I might need." Her eyes float back to the wall decorated to the brim with skis and snowboards.

 

He laughs, but seems to understand exactly what she's talking about, because he bounces around the counter to hand her a form. 

 

"Okay, little lady, but first I'm gonna need you to fill this out with all of your information. If you don't know your weight and height, we can check that for you!"

 

Laura nods, and when she's finished filling out the form, he jogs to the skis lined on the wall, bringing a pair of light green Burton skis in his hands over to her. He shows her how to put the ski boots on, helping her when she feels like her foot will break from the pressure, and assists her in the insertion of the boots in the skis. Once she has all of the equipment, including ski poles, a helmet, goggles, skis, and boots, she walks over to the counter to pay. It's a bit hard to maneuver in the heavy ski boots, but she manages. 

 

"So, are you staying at the resort until New Years? Because we throw a hell of a party. Think of it as 'welcoming the new year with loads of fun,'" the football-bodied young man beams.

 

"Yes, we're actually staying a few days after New Years Eve," Laura replies, inserting her bank card into the handheld machine. 

 

"Well, maybe you'd wanna come along with me? I know of a great view on the balcony that has a high railing, so even if you drink yourself crazy, you won't fall." He has such a huge smile on his face and Laura just doesn't have the heart to flat out reject him, even though she's definitely, positively, _absolutely_ gay, so she just smiles shyly, punching in her PIN. He continues talking though, hoping to convince Laura to say yes. "All of the resort's employees will be there, like Will, whose my best bro and brings awesome beer, Danny, who is super annoying but the absolute best at beer pong, Carmilla, who is really intimidating, but makes a mean piña colada."

 

Laura freezes when he says her name, and it's really odd to hear such a beautiful name come out of his mouth, because it sounds too elegant to be said in such a casual and "dude-bro" sort of way. It sounds like a name that suit kings and queens, as if royalty should be the only ones to let slip such a graceful name. He seems to have continued talking, and Laura thinks he must be one of those people who don't have a filter. Then again, at times, she doesn't either. 

"... Natalie will also be there, and so will Sarah Jane, and a bunch of other cool people. I bet you'd have an awesome time there- really let loose, and really relax."

 

"Oh, well, it definitely sounds like a lot of fun," Laura says, smiling and trailing off, hoping he gets the hint. He doesn't. 

 

"So you'll come?" he asks, with a toothy grin. 

 

"Tell you what, if we have no plans on New Years, we'll come- the three of us," she adds quickly, gesturing to her two friends standing beside the basket of goggles, and Laura thinks she hears LaFontaine asking Perry if the ski goggles they have on their face look better than their lab goggles (Perry seems to ponder the question at hand, and then replies no, because "your lab goggles make you look 'passionate for science', which is a good look on you, I think").

 

Laura turns back to the beaming young man (seriously, this smile will crack his face in half), and he nods knowingly. 

 

"Oh, and if you mention the name 'Kirsch' to the bartender, he may or may not give you some free drinks," he says with a sly expression. Then, a pause: "That's me, by the way."

 

"Okay, Kirsch, we'll be sure to do just that," Laura says, laughing awkwardly before spinning around and bending down to pick up her skis. She fumbles with them a bit before finding a comfortable position for them in her arms, and LaFontaine walks over quickly to carry her helmet and ski poles, while Perry holds her goggles. Laura throws up a quick, tiny wave to Kirsch with a flailing hand that is the least important of the two gripping the skis, and then hurriedly reattaching it to the bottom of them before they slip out of her grasp, strolling out of the shop as her friends follow suit. 

 

As they're about to walk up the stairs, Kirsch suddenly slides in front of them. 

 

"Here's my number, just in case," he says, winking, " _Laura."_

 

Before she has time to question, he holds up her form in front of her face. She waves a finger knowingly in the air, laughing a bit, because she totally forgot about the form that holds all her personal information (like her home address, oh God), and the three of them awkwardly sidle around him to walk up the stairs. 

 

"See you later, Kirsch," Laura calls out, and he waves before he disappears into the shop. 

 

"Geez, he seems like a human equivalent of a newborn puppy," LaFontaine jokes, and Perry shoots them a look that has the smile on their face replaced with a 'deer caught in the headlights' look. "You know, like a cute puppy. A puppy who just wants the best for everyone and is annoying in the best way possible." 

 

"Well, he _was_  nice," Laura compromises, "In a weird, gentleman-stalker kind of way." She finally manages to reach the top of the stairs whilst holding the ridiculously long laminated wooden sticks of doom, and she realizes a moment later that she's exactly where Carmilla had stood only a day ago. She's out of breath from the weight of the ski boots on her feet, and LaFontaine and Perry raise their eyebrows at her, as if they're silently asking _again_  if she's ready to strap herself to these deathtraps. 

 

"Guys. I'm ready, I want to do this," she says, and as if she's demonstrating her readiness, she marches forward to the exit, using her shoulder to push open the door. The weather is calm today, the sky is a wonderful smokey grey color, and it certainly does help that the temperature isn't in the negatives. Laura drops her skis to the ground with a loud thump, and the two redheads offer her her belongings for the day. 

 

 "So, do you remember how to mount them?"

 

"LaF, we literally just got out of the rental shop," Laura says with a light, playful jab to their side with her elbow. 

 

"Okay, just making sure," they say, resting their hands on their hips as they step back and gesture to the skis. Laura dips the toe of her right boot in the bindings first, and then clicks her heel in place. She attempts to do the same with her left foot, but with her right already secured in a ski that is currently sliding backwards a bit from the slippery ground, she has a bit of trouble keeping her balance. LaF is by her side in a flash, with Perry running over to pick up her discarded ski poles. With a hand on her back, Laura clicks her other foot in place, quickly taking the offered poles from Perry's hands, digging them into the ground on either side of her skis. She seems to be able to keep herself still (and upright), so LaF stands back and instructs Laura on how to push herself forward on flat ground. They tell her how to brake and how to control the speed at which she brakes, but since there are no hills to practice on, Laura takes their advice to heart and mind, remembering it for when she'll probably need it five minutes from now. 

 

"Great Scott, I think she's got it," LaF jokes proudly, a pursed smile on their lips as Laura tentatively raises a hand that's still holding onto a ski pole to salute. LaF returns it, and Perry gently holds onto the bent arm resting on LaF's hip. 

 

"You actually remind me of my parents right now," Laura says with a smile that drips nostalgia, and with that, she's off, pushing herself with great effort to slide towards the ski lift. Her strong arms flex with each thrust, and she eventually arrives at the end of the short line that's piled up in front of the lift. She watches with fascination as people hurry to push themselves to the blue line in the snow, awaiting the chair to nudge the backs of their knees so they can sit down on it. She starts to worry about how the heck she's going to get off this thing, but next thing she knows, LaF is running towards her. They stop beside the line, beside Laura, and the calm look on their face comes only with constant practice (they do spend nearly every second with Perry, and Laura tends to panic at times, as well). 

 

"There will be a sign that will tell you to lift up the bar, and do that when you're about a meter away from the sign. Then, a few feet of flat ground will appear, so scooch to the edge of the seat and let your skis run on the ground until the tips reach the beginning of the small hill. It's not rocket science- skiing, I mean- it's all pretty easy once you know the basics, just remember what I told you about braking!" 

 

Laura nods vigorously, until she realizes she's up next- and then she's pushing herself to the blue line while LaF is waving and mouthing  _"Good luck"_. The ride up the mountain is calming, and the view is breathtaking. The needles of the pine trees are weighed down heavily from the snow, and it looks almost picturesque. Laura reaches into her pocket for her cell phone, snapping a few nice angled pictures of the mountain and even the view behind her, which gets her a few waves from the people on the lift trailing after her. She shyly waves back, rotating back around to face forward and slipping her phone back into the confinements of her coat. 

 

Finally, the little sign signalling the lifting of the bar appears in the near distance, and Laura grips the bar as she prepares to lift it. She's a little nervous, but as she nears the drop-off, she can see it really isn't too hard.  _It's not rocket science._ She throws up the bar, ignoring the clanging above her as it bounces off of the lift, and bunches up her face in full concentration as she scoots to the edge of the seat, running her skis along the ground until she pushes off. She sways a little as she slides down the slope, and remembers what LaF had said about braking, so she looks down to make sure the tips of her skis don't touch, shifting her feet so they're angled towards each other slightly, eventually slowing to a stop. She smiles triumphantly, squinting against the bright glare of the sun reflecting off of the sparkling white snow, looking at the people calmly making their way down larger hills in front of her, and watching some line up for the other ski lift a few yards away.

 

Now that she's in the midst of the mountain, she finally realizes just how large it is. Laura is on a long, horizontal strip that acts as a middle ground between many sets of different hills, all with differing intensities. There are several ski lifts scattered along the stretched hill she's standing on, each leading to a different part of the mountain. It all looks so confusing, but there is a billboard with a map plastered on it, and Laura studies the many color coded lines and slopes decorating the board. Laura looks around her, examining the skiers. She finds it to be quite peaceful to be in the heart of a mountain and to be surrounded by people patiently gliding across the snow. She's watching everyone dispersed on this stretched strip of snow that seems to be about two football fields long (200 yards, Laura calculates, remembering one of her high school math classes), until her eye catches a small group of people huddled together, sitting at the top of a certain hill, but a bit to the side so people don't bump into them. She squints hard, and notices that everyone in the group seems to be paying attention to one particular person. Laura puts two-and-two together, and once she does, she feels stupid for not recognizing Carmilla's features earlier. Her dark, curly hair is a nice contrast between the blinding snow, even though her pale skin seems to match it perfectly. The small group is perched a bit far away, but close enough for Laura to distinguish the woman between the other skiers sitting around her. However, the strip of land leading to the ski instructor slopes a bit lower than flat ground, but Laura doesn't realize this as she studies the beautiful woman walk around a bit in the middle of the sitting circle of people, apparently explaining something in detail as she uses her hands to speak. Laura wonders what she could be talking so passionately about, suddenly deciding to put on her big girl pants, gripping her ski poles tightly as she prepares to push herself off. 

 

_Come on, Hollis- girl the hell up!_

 

She grunts as she digs the poles into the snow and thrusts herself forward. She seems to be quite good at keeping her balance at first, until the ground begins to slope down a bit more, and before she knows it, she's gliding at a speed that she isn't accustomed to at  _all._ And really, how could she be, considering this is the second time she's ever really moved on skis? She has no time to think, no time to remember to brake, because panic is overriding any rational thoughts in her mind. She tries to bend her knees and lean forward, but all it really does is increase her speed. Once she realizes this, she squeals a bit, noticing the group disperse calmly, supposedly finished with their lesson with no knowledge whatsoever of the girl currently flying down the small slope towards them. 

 

 _At least they're moving, they probably would've died if I collided with them at this speed. Oh God-_  

 

She can't control her speed, nor her angle, and she's swiftly moving towards the leader of the pack who is currently fiddling with one of her ski boots now that her lesson is over. Laura is waving her arms around frantically, trying to get Carmilla's attention, because her breath chooses now to get caught in her throat, her brain not capable of forming the words until it's too late. She's finally able to squeak out a "Carmilla!", but only five hot seconds before colliding with the woman. All Carmilla has time to do is straighten up and twist the upper half of her body around. 

"What the..." she mutters, her eyes widening with no chance to even react,  because all of a sudden, with a loud smack, a few choice words, and some grunts, the two are rolling down the hill in a heap of limbs, skis, and poles. 


	3. hung on tight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man this is late. It took forever and I'm not so satisfied with it- but anyway enjoy!

Laura's mind had been overflowing with too many thoughts of Carmilla ever since she had witnessed her pretty damn _perfect_  entrance in the chalet a few days ago. She had also been constantly re-imagining the moment when Carmilla had slipped her hand underneath hers, trying to remember how her skin felt beneath her fingertips. The contact was so minimal, but Laura couldn't stop her mind from wandering to the simple sensation of touch. 

 

Now touch is everywhere all at once, and it feels like _desperation, panic, hysteria_. Arms are wrapped around her, under her arms, around her torso, hands clasped to the back of her jacket, thighs between her thighs, and legs entwined with hers. At first, it takes Laura a few minutes to realize what exactly happened. After she had smacked into Carmilla, they had rolled down the hill together, their bodies entangled with skis still intact- until they came to a rather abrupt stop when they collided into a snowbank. At least, that's what she assumes when she comes to, considering all she really saw during their pillage was white, some tall dark figures, and then white again, all in a vicious circle, until her vision was suddenly cut off. 

 

Laura doesn't know how long she'd been blacked out for, but suddenly the feeling of her nose being crushed by her goggles is all too strong, and it  _hurts_. She groans a bit, and when she shifts slightly, she notices that the dead weight wrapped around her body pretty much (definitely) overpowers the pressure on her nose. The body on top of her shifts too, groaning quietly when it lifts off of her enough so that they at least aren't sharing body heat anymore. Laura squints when she finally opens her eyes, and she's greeted to the sight of Carmilla hovering inches above her on all threes, with one hand splayed out on the side of her head. Laura just now realizes that the tumble down the hill really did a number on her, as the ache in her muscles eventually begin to grow to a dull throb. She's guessing Carmilla feels it now, too, from the way she closes and then reopens her eyes after pressing a finger into her left temple. 

 

"Are you okay?" Carmilla rasps, and Laura swears she can  _hear_ her own heart beating, because the fact that the ski instructor asks her if she's okay before she's had a chance to familiarize herself with her surroundings sure does make her feel like a giddy schoolgirl (no matter how many times she'd scolded her brain for always bouncing back to the thought of the mysterious girl). 

 

"I'm fine- are you okay?" 

 

Laura attempts to readjust the goggles on her face so they're not digging into the bridge of her nose while she waits for her answer. 

 

"I'm fine, cutie," Carmilla says with a smile, reaching over to loosen the strap of Laura's goggles, immediately relieving the pressure on her nose.

 

"Thanks," she smiles shyly, and Carmilla nods, seemingly avoiding Laura's eyes while she looks down, shifting off of her to sink against the snowbank behind her. "Are you sure you're okay?" Laura asks, because Carmilla is exhaling too deeply for everything to be just peachy, and her fingers are digging in her temples again. Laura notices the light blanket of snow covering Carmilla's dark brown curls, and _oh, she's so beautiful and-_  it suddenly dawns on her that  _she isn't wearing a helmet_. "Oh my God," Laura starts, jolting up and gripping Carmilla's arms, " _are_   _you okay?_ You aren't wearing a helmet and we just practically  _rolled_ down the hill like we were in a circus act, oh my  _God._ "

 

She reaches up without even thinking, and lays a hand on top of Carmilla's hand, caressing the side of her head. Before Laura can even realize what it is that she's doing, Carmilla smiles warmly at her, and their eyes meet. They stare at each other for a few moments, as if looking away has suddenly become a challenge, with Carmilla's intense gaze only supporting Laura's assumption of the unspoken dare. She shrinks into herself when she feels Carmilla's soft breaths against her face, noticing their noses are basically eight inches away from each other, and she lowers her hand. 

 

"Sorry," she mumbles, and Carmilla still hasn't stopped smiling. 

 

"It's quite alright- I've had much worse falls," she says reassuringly, but Laura doesn't buy it. There's something in her eyes that resemble mischief, and it's almost as if she's used to a life of recklessness. 

 

"Well, what if you have a concussion? Some people have died from hitting their heads while skiing, and-"

 

"Whoa there, cupcake." Carmilla reaches forward to tuck a loose strand of hair behind Laura's ear, and Laura just about melts into a puddle right then and there. "I'm fine, I promise. I should be asking about you, really. You've never been on a pair of skis before and you've already managed to pay a major contribution to my top ten 'Greatest Wipe Outs' list. And remember: I'm a ski instructor; I've seen plenty of those."

 

She softly nudges Laura's shoulder with her fist, and Laura smiles shyly again while her brain attempts to piece together an appropriate response to Carmilla's jest. Apparently it's a quick ramble, like usual. 

 

"I'm sorry about that, I just didn't know how to stop- well, I do, my friend taught me, but it all happened so fast and I couldn't remember, and-"

 

Carmilla laughs, and the speed at which Laura cuts herself off isn't even alarming, considering that laugh caused major heart palpitations the first time she'd heard it. 

 

"You are too cute. But like I've said, I'm fine." Carmilla pushes herself off the ground and holds her hand out to Laura. She grips it and is hoisted up almost effortlessly. Carmilla seemed to miscalculate the actual amount of distance between them when she had held out her hand, because in a matter of time that is far too quick for both of them to process, they're practically standing nose to nose. 

 

"Thank you," Laura says quietly, and Carmilla nods. Laura can see the sun in Carmilla's eyes, with chocolate brown irises acting as its rays, and twirling out like jellyfish tentacles from pupils that are as dark as the night. Suddenly, that radiance is slipping from her close view as Carmilla backs up, ridiculously apologizing for some reason that she somehow thinks is appropriate. However, the ski boots she's wearing aren't exactly built for walking up snow banks, so she ends up slipping on the hill behind her, and Laura lunges forward, hooking her arms underneath Carmilla's. 

 

"Oh, God," Carmilla mutters, and Laura can feel her icy breath blow against her neck through the opening of her jacket. She shudders, and pulls Carmilla up so she's standing firmly on her feet, leaning away slowly. Carmilla actually manages to look somewhat  _embarrassed,_ and she avoids Laura's gaze as she shakes her head at herself. "I'm such a clumsy mess, I apologize." 

 

It's very weird to hear  _her_ of all people refer to herself as  _clumsy,_  and it makes Laura want to laugh out loud.

 

"It's okay," Laura says breathlessly, smiling. Carmilla finally looks up, and the strong, confident demeanor is back as she straightens up and gives Laura her best deep, analyzing, 'I'm staring into your soul and reading your mind' look.

 

"Are you planning on letting go of me, now, cutie? Because as much as I wouldn't mind sharing body heat to ensure we don't freeze to death, I seem to remember there is a lesson I'm supposed to be teaching."

 

That ridiculous smirk is back at the same time Laura glances down to see her arms still wrapped around Carmilla, and she immediately jumps back as if she's been burned.

 

"Sorry!" she squeaks, and quickly tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. Carmilla is still staring at her with those intense eyes, as if she hadn't just been practically blushing profusely in front of her, until her gaze slightly shifts behind Laura, her eyebrow quirking up. Laura spins, and watches her rented skis slide down the hill slowly on an angle until they bump into each other, ultimately stopping their descent any further. 

 

"I was wondering where those went," Laura mutters, feeling a light tap on her shoulder. She twists her torso to look at Carmilla, and follows the direction of her pointed finger, which leads to two skis sticking out of the snowbank beside them. Laura stifles a laugh as Carmilla walks to her protruding skis, accidentally snorting when Carmilla yanks them out with a grunt. She manages to do  _that_ gracefully, too. Laura begins to walk across the hill before Carmilla sticks her arm in front of her stomach.

 

"Don't worry, I'll get them." 

 

Carmilla briskly walks across the steep hill, and only when she bends down to pick up Laura's skis does Laura realize she's  _wearing leather pants again._ Laura's eyes follow the curve of her ass, her mouth suddenly drying as she watches the pants tighten around Carmilla's shape when she bends, glorifying all of her and leaving nothing to the imagination. She swallows hard. She doesn't even notice that Carmilla's suddenly standing in front of her until she clears her throat. 

 

"Oh! Thanks," Laura quickly spits out, grabbing the skis from Carmilla's clutches. 

 

"You're very welcome," Carmilla drawls, sliding her skis down the hill directly below them, out of the path of the other skiers, and Laura follows her actions. Carmilla stalks around her to lean down once again to pick up her discarded ski poles. Laura's eyes widen and her eyes flit down to Carmilla's ass clad in leather again, quickly admiring a nearby tree once Carmilla stands up and turns back around. Carmilla clears her throat again and points back with her thumb to the hill they had just gracefully tumbled down, and Laura pretends to only just notice her presence, following the line of her thumb until she spots two bright colored sticks farther up the hill. She groans and slumps her shoulders a bit.

 

"Don't worry, I'll pick them up on our way down again."

 

At Laura's confused expression (because who really wants to ski down a hill two hot seconds after they had just horrendously wiped out?) she continues, "This is the beginning of your lesson, cutie." 

 

Laura bites the side of her lip from the thought of Carmilla teaching her how to ski. The thought alone of Carmilla being her teacher awakens a dark fantasy that she secretly loves; a teacher and a student role play, only, _it's_ _really happening._

 

Except, Carmilla probably doesn't think that way. It's just another private lesson for her, one out of so many in the day. Who knows how many students she has? Laura shouldn't feel special at all, really, because this is Carmilla's job- but that doesn't stop her from hoping (and secretly wishing she was the only one). It doesn't help how peaceful this moment is, with the snow gently falling around them and covering their space with a calm silence, with no one on the hill aside from them. It really does feel like they're the only ones in the entire world. 

 

And when Carmilla reaches out her hand for Laura, she can't help but forget the professionalism that really should be apparent in her head. Because with Carmilla's long, slender fingers wrapped around hers, she's only reminded of those hands clutching her back a mere ten minutes ago, pulling her jacket in utter desperation (as if she was so afraid). She tries to shake the memory of being gripped and pulled by strong fingers, and follows Carmilla's careful lead down the hill. 

 

"It's a bit icy, so watch your step. It helps to sidle down with your boot horizontally placed so you don't just slip down," Carmilla says, demonstrating her idea. Laura follows, and they slowly make their way down the hill. 

 

"It's a nice day, isn't it?"

 

Laura keeps her focus on her stepping, and nods, tightening her grip on Carmilla's hand. 

 

"Yes, it's not in the negatives today, so that's positive."

 

Carmilla laughs from Laura's play on words, and Laura takes her eyes off of her feet to attempt to commit to memory the view of Carmilla throwing her head back in pleasure. She looks so carefree and younger than how she lets on, and Laura can't help but feel a twinge of sadness when the laughter finally stops. Laura doesn't notice the fact that she had stopped walking with her, so when Carmilla yanks on her hand from the assumption of being followed by Laura, she is launched forward, smacking into Carmilla's back with her arms thrown around her neck for good measure. Carmilla's hand immediately flies behind her to Laura's hip, holding her against her back. Laura flushes at Carmilla's sudden strength, realizing she's pinning her against her body. 

 

"Dammit creampuff, do you ever stay on those two feet long enough to reach the destination in mind?"

 

Laura's face threatens to overheat from hearing the strain in Carmilla's voice, and she stammers out a broken apology as she tries to lean back and regain her balance. She realizes she's screwed when she notices that she's leaning too far ahead to be able to stand back on a steep slope. Carmilla's desperately trying to hold them both up, which explains the struggle to speak.

 

Laura struggles, attempting to stand up straight with absolutely zero balance, and in her awkward flailing, she only manages to push Carmilla down farther. She basically looks like she's giving Laura a piggyback ride at this point, and it's really a miracle she remains upright, because Laura's entire body is being forced onto Carmilla's back. 

 

Carmilla slowly reaches down with the hand not currently behind her holding Laura's hip against her back, pulling her handheld radio from her pants and lifting it to her mouth. 

 

She quietly curses to herself, then holds down the button and speaks, "This is Carmilla. Danny, come in Danny- over." She releases the button.

 

"This is Danny, over," a static voice replies. 

 

"Can you bring my--"

 

A loud guffaw interrupts Carmilla's stern voice, and Laura sees her jaw tense from over her shoulder. 

 

"Are you done?" she spits out, and the laughing on the other end finally ceases.

 

"Did you get stuck, or something?"

 

"Kind of. Listen--"

 

A loud snort on the other end of the line stops Carmilla for a moment, but she doesn't let that hinder her again. 

 

"I need my mobile. Please bring it."

 

She sounds pained as she asks such a simple question. If someone laughed at Laura for needing help, she thinks she would be, too. 

 

"Alright."

 

There's a pause, and then Carmilla holds the button down again, "We're on Appalachian Run." 

 

"Okay, I'm on my way- out."

 

Carmilla ignores the required speak for handheld transceivers, and hooks the radio back on her pant line. 

 

"She'll be here, soon," she says softly, and Laura's eyes widen for a second as she notices the shift in tone. "How are you holding up?"

 

"Good, I think. As long as we don't move."

 

Carmilla chuckles, squeezing Laura's hip (she is suddenly hyper-sensitive, and Carmilla's touch burns her through layers of clothing). "I'm sorry this had to happen on your very first time on the mountains. It usually is much less stressful than this." She turns her head and Laura revels in the beauty of Carmilla's profile inches away. If she knew how to ski, she'd ride right down her jaw line. 

 

"It's okay," Laura breathes, wrapping her arms tighter around Carmilla's neck. She has a reason to, at this point, so she takes advantage. "I kind of can't imagine it happening any other way, to be honest."

 

There's that laugh again; Carmilla bares her perfect teeth as she smiles. Her profile has never looked so breathtaking. Also, being pressed up against her while her entire body shakes with laughter is an entirely different type of pleasure. And Laura finds herself loving it. 

 

They stand there for a few minutes, with Laura wrapped around Carmilla. It's starting to get a bit chilly now that they're just standing still, and whenever Laura shivers, her body shakes Carmilla's, as well. Laura lays her cheek against Carmilla's back, despite the cold settled on the fabric of the jacket. She can hear and feel Carmilla's heartbeat, and on the quiet hill in the middle of the afternoon, it's so calming Laura just might fall asleep.

 

Really, if she had known her day would include her arms wrapped around Carmilla in the midst of a very icy, very steep mountain, she would've rethought her approach to this entire situation. Firstly, she probably wouldn't have stepped onto those death traps disguised as skis. She would've just walked down to Carmilla, to be honest. Maybe have made a really memorable entrance, much like Carmilla's in the chalet. 

 

Her thoughts are suddenly interrupted by a nearby whirring noise, and Carmilla's head snaps up. 

 

"Finally. That's our girl," she says, nodding in the direction of the noise. Laura looks up and sees someone crossing the threshold of trees horizontally across the mountains on a snowmobile, her vehicle trailing another one behind it using a tow bar. 

 

The snowmobile comes to a stop a few paces away from them, and the driver slips off, walking towards them with ease while wearing odd snowshoes on her feet and a helmet on her head. She extends a hand to Laura.

 

"Here, I got you."

 

Laura stretches and grabs the hand, and she's pulled in front of the girl (who is very, very tall, Laura notices). She holds Laura's shoulder, guiding her along the hill to the towed snowmobile, standing in between her and the slope. She assists Laura in climbing the vehicle, and once Laura is settled on the seat, Carmilla slips in front of her. The tow bar is removed with the help of the tall girl apparently named Danny, who has long red hair cascading out of her helmet. 

 

"Hold on to me," Carmilla suggests as she starts the engine, and Laura (all too excitedly) obliges, wrapping her arms around her waist. The tall girl rummages in the trunk of their snowmobile, and she hands them helmets. Laura pushes it onto her head, and it's a bit tight, but she has a feeling there isn't anything they can do about her discomfort at the moment. They drive beside Danny's snowmobile, Carmilla turning her head to face her.

 

"Thanks for getting our gear," she quips, throwing her hand up as a sign of thanks before she drives away, facing forward once again. 

 

"What? Karnstein, are you kidding?" 

 

Her voice dies considerably as the distance between them grows, and Laura can barely hear her choice words from the mix of the engine and the loud snow surrounding them. 

 

Carmilla drives directly down the mountain, and as the speed increases, as does Laura's grip on her. It's really quite terrifying to glide directly down the mountain, and it feels like the speed is increasing with each passing second. Laura squeezes Carmilla, and presses her head into her back. Carmilla seems to get the hint, because she slows down (although not by much).

 

Finally (because that hill was definitely larger than she had previously sized it up to be), they reach the bottom, and Carmilla drives right to the chalet, swerving through skiers and snowboarders alike. 

 

When they come to a sudden stop, Carmilla dismounts the snowmobile like an absolute professional, her hands gripping and leaning on the handlebars while she swings her legs over with the elegance of a ballerina.

 

Laura imagines Carmilla sliding off of her lap the way she had just done with the snowmobile, and her eyes glaze over from the image in her mind. The random sensation of Carmilla straddling her and taking control is suddenly very realistic, and Laura imagines Carmilla riding her instead, with that same fervor as she had done with the vehicle. Strong hands gripping her, legs tightening around her, her heavy weight seated right on Laura's--

 

She wakes herself up from her daydreams before she goes too far, and she feels her cheeks burn up as she realizes she's been just sitting there, staring straight ahead with her hands curled into fists on her thighs.

 

Laura quickly clambers off of the snowmobile with about as much grace as a drunk possum, and she grunts as she pushes the stupid, all too tight helmet from over her head, whimpering when it gets caught on her ears for a moment.

 

She walks behind the vehicle, glancing up as she opens the trunk, and she thanks the heavens for her wonderful timing because there is Carmilla, sliding her helmet off and bouncing her perfect curls in the process. She tucks the headgear under her arm and balances it on her hip, shaking out her chestnut brown locks with her other hand and flipping her hair to the other side with a swift curve of her head.

 

She looks like a goddamn angel, with the sun's discreet rays hitting off of her face in such a way that makes her look like she has just descended onto the earth (and oh God that sounds like a terribly cheesy pick-up line) and those fucking cheekbones jutting out, creating crevices in her face that just beg to be explored. 

 

_Good Lord-_

 

Laura misses the trunk by a long shot (she decides to completely disregard the fact that it was directly in front of her) and her helmet drops onto the snow with a loud thud, rolling away from her feet like a pathetic bowling ball. 

 

She would lean down to pick up the damn thing, but Carmilla's staring at her so intently with those eyes and she doesn't know if she can manage to tear her eyes away from them. 

 

She does though, after about 10 whole seconds of eye sex, and as she bends, she can still feel Carmilla's eyes on her. So, she decides to have a little fun with her not-so-discreet audience. She's kind of had enough with Carmilla being the only one to make her skin burn up with a simple look or movement. 

 

So she sticks her ass out as far as she can, and she's suddenly grateful for her choice of high-waisted jeans other than the wonderful comfort and durability that they offer. She grips the edge of the helmet, swinging her ass to the side as she begins to slowly stand up- and as one last torturous trick, she runs her fingers through her hair and flips it back as she slowly closes her eyes when she finally straightens up.

 

Her fingers run through the last few strands of her hair as she opens her eyes halfway, staring at Carmilla through her long lashes. She manages to catch the last of Carmilla's wide-eyed reaction, but she quickly recovers and her expression is replaced as to one with much less surprise. 

 

Laura drops her helmet with a dramatic swing of her wrist, not taking her eyes off of Carmilla. It thumps into the trunk with a loud bang, and Carmilla's eyes jump down at the source of the noise for a split second, and then flit back up to Laura. 

 

Where she's getting this burst of courage from, she has no idea. She's just taking advantage of this for as long as she can before it disappears as quickly as it came.

 

Laura stalks forward, and they're about 6 inches from each other when Laura stops walking, her lips slightly parting as she runs her tongue agonizingly slow along the length of her bottom lip. She watches Carmilla's eyes follow the movement, and purses her lips as those copper suns gaze daringly back into hers. Laura leans in even closer, her fingers brushing Carmilla's as she takes the helmet from her grasp, her breathy whisper ghosting over Carmilla's skin, "You're welcome."

 

She spins, taking notice of her hair whipping against Carmilla's face as she does so, and saunters back to the snowmobile, barely bending to halfheartedly drop her helmet into the trunk, as well. She leans back, throwing Carmilla a smirk and a raised eyebrow, flipping their positions entirely. Carmilla is completely taken aback, and her hard exterior is broken through a tiny bit for just a moment- however, it's quickly replaced with a mirroring smirk in a single heartbeat. 

 

"Thank you," she finally husks, and _bam-_  seduction eyes ensue. 

 

_Do I look like that, too? Oh God, she's giving me sex eyes. Wait- is she? Or she is just amused that I think I could maybe have a chance? Is she taunting me, or just challenging me? With that look, I swear it's almost as if she's actually daring me._

 

Laura takes a step forward and Carmilla's teeth poke out from between her perfect, red lips as she bites the side of her lip, her eyebrow raised as she releases a low, dark chuckle. She is about to speak when-

 

"Carmilla!"

 

A cheerful voice breaks the magnetized hold between them, and the chemistry that was just sparking and fusing in between their bodies immediately dies down to a sizzle. Carmilla blinks away, her eyes focused on someone behind Laura. Laura turns, and is greeted to a spunky blonde practically bouncing toward the instructor, snowboard in tow. 

 

"There you are!" she gushes. Carmilla opens her mouth to speak, but instead closes it as she blinks several times. Laura can't help but hope she is still recovering from the sudden change in the air between them. 

 

"I've been looking for you. My lesson was supposed to begin about 20 minutes ago?" the girl continues when she sees Carmilla is too damn dumbstruck to speak. "You're never late."

 

Laura grits her teeth, exhaling slowly. 

 

_She was busy._

 

"Oh, right, I apologize, Elsie." 

 

And the stupefied, taunting Carmilla has vanished just like that, her cool and mysterious front back in action. Laura glances between the two girls, feeling out of place as they share knowing looks. 

 

"I must have lost track of time, again, I apologize. I will make time to fit the rest of your lesson in, but we can practice as much as we can today for the rest of our scheduled time together. I have quite a busy day today, so perhaps we can do the rest later," Carmilla explains, and she looks back to Laura. 

 

"I'm sorry I couldn't properly teach you today, we will have to reschedule. How about tomorrow, at around noon?"

 

Laura nods, quietly agreeing, and Carmilla actually smiles- one that reaches her eyes as they light up with glee. 

 

_She's happy to spend time with me, and she's smiling at me. Oh Lord, take me now._

 

Elsie clears her throat, but Carmilla doesn't take her eyes off of Laura.

 

"But, um, that's kind of during my lesson," she quietly murmurs in the background. 

 

Without glancing away, Carmilla replies coolly, "I will make time in my day to fit you in later, Elsie, if you don't mind. Something suddenly came up." 

 

Laura hears a small huff from Elsie, but she can barely hear it over her pounding heartbeat. She breaks out a shy smile as Carmilla nods her goodbye, hopping onto her snowmobile and offering her student a ride up the mountain. As they drive away, she sees another snowmobile approaching, and she notices her rented gear across the girl's lap. 

 

_Crap. I almost forgot about my stuff._

 

Danny stops in front of her, getting off her vehicle and handing Laura her ski gear.

 

"Here you are," she says, albeit a bit muffled from her helmet.

 

"Thank you so much," Laura starts, grabbing her things and adjusting them in her arms, "I didn't know she would do that, I would've never left it there if I had known- I kind of couldn't walk on the mountain, but I think you know that by now."

 

Danny laughs, and waves her hand as if to shake it off. "No worries. I had a feeling she would pull something like that. I've known her for a while, now."

 

Laura gives her a knowing nod, smiling politely.

 

"So what on earth did you guys get up to on that hill?" she asks playfully, resting her hands on her hips.

 

Laura laughs, "Oh, I just crashed into her before my ski lesson even began, and we rolled down the hill in a chaotic circle of limbs."

 

The tall girl laughs, shaking her head. "Oh, man, I've never heard that happen before, in all the time I've worked here. Must be some clumsy person, huh?"

 

"Yep, that's me- uncoordinated, hill-roller extraordinaire." Laura attempts to point her thumbs at herself, but only manages to lose her grip on her ski gear, juggling them awkwardly before they fall in a scattered heap around her. 

 

The tall girl laughs, clutching her sides before she pulls off her headgear. She grins as she tucks it under her arm to reach out her hand. Her smile is wide and her eyes gleam at Laura. 

 

"Lawrence."

 

"Hollis." 

 

Laura smiles as she shakes her hand, temporarily ignoring the mess at her feet. 


	4. hard choices

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay just take this chapter and forgive me for my horrible update schedule because I, being the smart person I am, decided to buy a PS3, an iPad, and a ps4 in the same month, and with work, I've been super.. "Busy". Anyway, this is not proofread, I just want it out of my drafts. (Pls don't be so harsh while reading it) also I'm terribly sorry to all of you who have messaged me asking for when I'm updating because I made so many empty promises and omg I'm just so sorry to all of you

Laura laughs way too hard at Danny's perfect impression of Kirsch. Her abdomen hurts and she's almost doubled over on the table from laughing too hard, and really, it doesn't help that Danny has even matched his facial expression _to a T_. Of course, it does seem a little mean, but Laura can see the glint in Danny's eyes and she knows it's tasteful. 

 

"Oh my gosh, did he call you a hottie too?" Danny suddenly asks between bursts of laughter (she sort of wheezes and shrieks when she's laughing so hard, but Laura loves the pure joy radiating onto her), and Laura nods enthusiastically. 

 

"A little hottie, actually," Laura adds, and Danny finally calms down before she grimaces, lifting her coffee mug to her lips. 

 

"Unbelievable," she mutters as she sips. 

 

"He was nice, though! A little annoying, but I wouldn't mind getting to know him a little better."

 

Danny's eyebrow quirks, and she carefully sets the cup down in front of her. 

 

"Well, I think he's sort of seeing Sarah Jane, but--"

 

"Oh, no! Not like that," Laura blurts, her hand shooting out to rest on Danny's as if to stop her from continuing her sentence. Danny smirks and takes a bite of her chocolate chip cookie. "He told me about the New Years Eve party though- are you going?"

 

"Oh, yeah, it's a huge celebration here, complete with fireworks and cheap alcohol. It's pretty fun, no matter how lame he makes it sound. The Summer Society sisters all get together and plan the whole thing- we make it what it is. Which is a wonderful party, of course," she says, with a smug smile. 

 

"Summer Society?"

 

"Oh yeah, we're basically an all girl group dedicated to hosting amazing parties and organizing events. We also host the annual ski and snowboard Adonis festival," she replies proudly, and Laura nods with a grin. 

 

"It sounds amazing! An all girl group is definitely what I'd be interested in to write about for my journalism paper due this semester," she says, and Danny's eyes light up. 

 

"I'll tell you all about it," she promises, and Laura only now notices that her hand hasn't left Danny's. 

 

"Oh! Sorry," she spits out, jerking her hand back like Danny is the fire she accidentally created when attempting to fry a simple egg back in senior year. But Danny doesn't flare like the fire had (seriously, how did she even manage to do that?), instead she smiles and waves her hand back and forth. 

 

"It's honestly not a big deal." Danny reaches and places her hand on Laura's, the corner of her lips tugging into a shy smile. 

 

Laura can feel the heat creeping up her neck and to the tips of her ears, and she looks down and quickly tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. 

 

"Well, anyway, I would like to interview you and your sisters, if that's okay." She looks up and meets Danny's gentle, blue eyes. They resemble the color of a tropical oceans; Laura suddenly imagines the sky painted in that same shade of blue, piercing through thick, foggy clouds. 

 

"I think they'd be just as stoked as I am about it, to be honest. The more coverage on Summer Society, the better."

 

"Then, awesome! When do you think is the best time?"

 

"To interview us? Well, I'd say the New Years party. All of us will be there, and we get the bonus of rubbing in Kirsch's face that the Summer Society will be published before the idiotic 'group' they've made up for themselves." She rolls her eyes, and Laura tilts her head. "They're the 'Zeta Omega Mus', which, apparently, is just transferred from their stupid college fraternity. For whatever reason, they keep their"- she lowers her voice dramatically as if to imitate Kirsch again -"'brothership', 'bro-ship'"- her voice returns to its original tone -"whatever- here as well."

 

"Well, as  _interesting_ as they sound, I'd much rather cover the Summer Society. I prefer the ladies, y'know what I mean?" Her voice hits a few octaves at the end of her sentence, but then her eyes widen at the immediate realization of how she managed to word it. "Oh- God- it's just that, I mean, you know-"

 

"Laura," Danny laughs, squeezing her hand in order to stop her ridiculous rambling, and Laura lowers her head. "It's okay. I know what you mean. And- so do I," she says, winking. Laura almost misses it, but she catches it as she looks up, laughing nervously. 

 

"Well, I'm glad we're on the same page here, then," Laura says quietly. 

 

She smiles shyly, and Danny leans forward. Laura watches her pupils dilate. 

 

"Me too."

 

A sudden loud clearing of a throat interrupts their longing gazes.

 

Both girls turn towards the sound, and their reactions couldn't be more different. Danny's eyes roll so high that her crystal clear pupils can barely be seen, while Laura's eyes widen before lighting up like the Christmas tree that she refuses to take down in her house. 

 

Carmilla is standing there with a murderous expression painted across her face. Her eyes are shooting daggers into Danny's, and Laura simply gapes because even when it seems like ten angry bulls are squeezed into that petite body, she still manages to look  _drop dead gorgeous._  

 

"Stealing my students, huh, Lawrence? Low move, but I expected nothing less." Her tone is more sarcastically playful than her face, and her posture loosens while her arms quickly cross on her chest- but her facial expression remains hardened. 

 

"Actually yes, me and Laura were just discussing the next time I was available for snowboard lessons, since, you know, yours went  _so well."_  

 

Carmilla stiffens, and her eyes narrow, her eyes never leaving Danny's. Laura blinks a few times before sputtering a few incoherent words, unsure of exactly what to say just yet, when Danny snorts and shakes her head at Laura. 

 

"She isn't something to own or fight over, like the last piece of pie," Danny adds proudly with a shit-eating smirk, as if she was the only one to come to this realization, and Carmilla raises her eyebrow rather gracefully at her. 

 

"Well I never said I was claiming her, even if she is my customer." She pauses, her eyes jumping to Laura's, staring into them with still narrowed eyes. "Although, for beautiful girls I'll fight anything." 

 

Laura can't help the gasp that forces its way out of her mouth, and Carmilla smirks, winking.

 

"I'll leave you two alone, then. I can now see that she's already been 'claimed' for dessert." 

 

And with that, she turns and saunters away, hips swinging in time to her curls. Laura can't decide which part of her to watch as she walks to the doors (butt; she ultimately decides butt). Once she's out of the chalet, Laura releases a breath she realizes she'd been holding since her audible intake of oxygen in front of Carmilla. 

 

" _Wow,_ " Danny says, snorting quietly as she shakes her head and sips her drink. "She's ridiculous."  _  
_

 

Laura slowly crawls back to reality unwillingly (she was really enjoying re-imagining Carmilla's butt in her mind), and nods absentmindedly at Danny's comment. She vaguely registers Danny speaking. 

 

"You aren't even listening, are you?"

 

"Hmm, what?"

 

Danny throws her head back and guffaws.

 

"Oh, Hollis." 

 

-

 

"Okay, so basically, this is the exact posture you should be in when you're going down a hill." 

 

Danny rests one hand on Laura's back and the other on her stomach to help keep her position. Laura's bending her knees and leaning forward, and honestly, she feels like a pro (she's never even been on a snowboard before but she's seen professionals ride exactly like this).

 

"I feel like I could actually go down a double black diamond hill," Laura jokes, and Danny snorts. 

 

"After your wipeout with Morticia, I don't think strapping both your feet on a single board is the best idea," she says with a grin, patting Laura's back gently. 

 

"What the heck do you mean? I'd definitely beat you on the way down."

 

Danny steps back and rummages through her pockets for her wallet.

 

"Only because you wouldn't know how to stop," Danny laughs, holding up a bill. "Pie?"

 

"Only if there's cherry." Laura smiles genuinely, and Danny returns it. Her eyes are beautiful in this white wonderland of snowflakes, and Laura suddenly finds herself losing herself in them, as well as her balance and she's suddenly falling forward. Her palms are ready to collide with the snow (with her knees bent like that, she was wondering when they'd give in), if it isn't for Danny's hands shooting out to catch her under her arms. Laura slides into Danny's chest and sinks into her jacket, vibrating from the laughing that's rumbling Danny's entire body. 

 

"Not one word, Lawrence," she jokes. 

 

"I'm not saying anything, Hollis." 

 

It takes her a few more seconds to stop laughing her ass off.

 

-

 

"These are _heavenly,"_ Laura moans around a forkful of warm cherry pie. 

 

"The filling is especially memorable," Danny adds, and Laura shakes her head slowly as another moan escapes between her lips. Danny quirks her eyebrow slightly, "man, it's this easy to get you to moan?" 

 

Laura shoots her a piercing glance, but a quick smile afterwards relaxes Danny.

 

"it's quite easy to make me moan, actually," she says daringly, raising her eyebrow to match Danny's.  Innocently, she continues, waving her fork in small circles in the air, "you know, like good food, when I get the occasional splinter in my finger, and," her voice lowers a timbre, and her fork threatens to slip out of her fingers as her wrist stops and hangs limp, "the right woman."

 

Danny just about chokes on the cherries that find themselves lodged in her throat, and she coughs a few times to force them down. Laura just looks satisfied with herself as Danny pumps a fist against her chest and finally manages to assist the piece of crap that just made her look like a complete fool. 

 

"Oh wow," Danny croaks, and she really shouldn't try to speak anymore right now, because she sounds like an actual frog.

 

"Wow, indeed."

 

Both girls jump at the sound of the familiar voice, and Laura practically spins around like a record at full speed in a turntable.

 

There are many different types of croaky voices. In Danny's instance, a croak could sound like an amphibian, and in Carmilla's, a seductive goddess. Danny immediately reddens at the thought, and with said seductress currently standing there like she's at the end of a runway, it's hard not to be incredibly embarrassed. 

 

Carmilla slowly makes her way over to the bench, sitting down beside Laura while elegantly swinging her legs over it to settle under the table, quickly making herself comfortable. Laura peers out of the corners of her eyes only to witness the crossing of Carmilla's legs. She immediately averts her eyes forward, releasing a deep sigh. 

 

"The right woman can do much more than make  _me_ moan," she drawls, and Laura's eyes almost pop out of their sockets, because  _did Carmilla just talk about women making her moan?_

 

"Oh get out with your 'I have a new lover every weekend' shit," Danny says with bite, glaring at Carmilla's smirking face. "Everyone knows you just prey on desperate, unsuspecting girls."

 

"Well they surely aren't desperate, considering they're not instead heading to your corner."

 

Danny narrows her eyes and inhales deeply, chewing cherry pie way more forcefully than need be. 

 

"I'll have you know I prefer long, lasting relationships rather than one night stands," she says after harshly swallowing. Laura glances between the two hesitantly, unsure when this became a competition. _Also when did this become a "let's share what we like to do in our private time" moment?_  Even though she feels like she shouldn't be hearing this about her own instructor, she decides to just sit there awkwardly for the moment and hear each girl slam the other. 

 

"Are you slut shaming me? Because last I checked, that's against your little scouts honour," Carmilla retorts, leaning closer to her on her elbows. 

 

"We aren't scouts."

 

"All you're missing are some sashes, honestly."

 

 "We do more for this lodge than you could ever think to do."

 

"I  _do_ more girls at this lodge in one month than your little posse does in one year."

 

(Laura's mouth drops open and she blinks rapidly in surprise at that)

 

"I think that says more about you than me, really."

 

Laura's eyes flit between the two, and she's really pondering on how long it would take before they eventually kill each other (she's betting at least another three minutes but she really wants to intervene before that can happen). Carmilla tilts her head mockingly, her voice falsely high.

 

"Shaming me once again?"

 

" _No,_ I'm simply saying you're so emotionally incapable that you need to have someone in your bed to make up for the fact that you literally don't have a heart."

 

 _"Okay,"_ Laura finally interrupts, causing both girls to whip their heads towards her. She flushes at the immediate attention, but continues (no matter how intimidating Carmilla is). "Seriously, do you really think insulting each other in front of a student is very professional?"

 

Danny's hard eyes have nothing on Carmilla's intense gaze, and Laura feels like she visibly shrinks under it. "I mean, you both have very different views on relationships and I think that's totally okay. You don't need to beat each other up about it just because you don't have the same opinion."

 

Carmilla's lips curl into a small smirk, and her eyes never leave Laura's as she begins to speak. Her voice lowers immensely, as if she is speaking directly to her instead of Danny. "She's right, Xena."

 

"Of course she's right, I didn't say she wasn't." Danny glares at Carmilla but Laura doesn't even notice because they're having that electrifying eye sex again, and really, Danny's voice fades into background noise. 

 

"She's right," Carmilla repeats, her voice doing so many things to Laura's insides, and she leans on her elbow, her knuckles pressed against her cheek. "So Tell us then, what kind of relationship would you prefer?"

 

Laura is definitely caught off guard with that one, and she splutters a few times before managing to squeak out a "I don't really know". 

 

Carmilla seems so amused from her response that she scrunches up her nose and smirks playfully. 

 

"Don't worry, Laura, she just likes to make people feel uncomfortable," Danny states with annoyance. 

 

"Oh, okay," Laura says quietly, smiling awkwardly and suddenly Carmilla's in her personal space and leaning forward, her eyes just inches from her own. 

 

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Laura," she quickly says, gazing into Laura's eyes with concern. It's so endearing and completely unnecessary that Laura immediately starts laughing it off with a wave of her hand.

 

"No, no! I'm not uncomfortable at all." She smiles to make sure her message gets across and Carmilla's smiling back, and wow, did she always have such pretty lips? 

 

"Well she always manages to make sure  _someone's_ uncomfortable," Danny grumbles, and once again, her voice fades into the background, because Carmilla's smile is only inches away and Laura's definitely getting lost in the curve of her lips.

 

"I'm glad," Carmilla almost whispers, completely ignoring Danny.

 

Carmilla's hand reaches up to lightly press a few fingers into Laura's forearm, and Laura leans in closer, their noses almost touching. 

 

"Me too."

 

Danny's rolling her eyes so hard that they hurt, and starts tapping her fingers against the wooden table. 

 

"Well, I have an appointment in ten minutes that I have to get to, so I should get going," Carmilla drawls, and brushes her hand down Laura's arm not-so-subtly, pushing herself up with her hands on the table, stepping out from the inside of the bench. Just before she leaves though, she leans down to whisper in Laura's ear, "don't forget about our appointment later today." 

 

Laura flushes and looks down shyly, nodding as she glances up through her lashes to witness the tail-end of a smirk as Carmilla stalks out of the chalet. Laura forces herself not to turn and watch her walk, so she leans on the table and focuses on the person sitting in front of her (she almost fails, but she has too much dignity to turn in the direction of the girl curre fly walking away like she's a supermodel on the runway). 

 

"Geez, of course she has to do that."

 

"What?" Laura gives Danny a confused look, and the redhead rolls her eyes as she half-heartedly points in the direction of the doors.

 

"She winked at me before she turned to go."

 

"And?" 

 

Danny rolls her eyes again for the billionth time in the past ten minutes, "right after she made an obscene gesture with her tongue."

 

Laura's eyes widen as she blinks a few times to make sense of what she just heard. 

 

"At- At me?"

 

"Listen, Laura, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret around here." She leans in closely as she whispers, and Laura follows the movement, "she's known for breaking hearts around here. Just be careful what you do with her and how far you let her do this."

 

"Do what?" _whispers_   _Laura, the most oblivious person in the world_ , she thinks. 

 

"How far you let her play her little game." 


End file.
